


The Last Post

by EllenMarieP



Series: Thomas Barrow Christmas Prompts [16]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Gen, Thomas Barrow needs a hug, tired Thomas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28160679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllenMarieP/pseuds/EllenMarieP
Summary: Part 16 of the Christmas prompt challenge.Christmas cards – “It’s three in the morning, why are you writing Christmas cards?”Thomas left it a bit late for the last post.
Series: Thomas Barrow Christmas Prompts [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030419
Comments: 9
Kudos: 37
Collections: A Very Thomas Barrow Christmas 2020





	The Last Post

**The Last Post**

Mrs Patmore had assumed everyone else had gone to bed when she got up to get herself a powder for the headache that was stopping her from sleeping like the dead until she passed the butlers office on her way down the stairs and saw the soft glow of light under the door. It wasn’t rare for Mr Barrow to work late into the night, but he had to be up again in three hours!

She decided against standing on ceremony and simply let herself into the office, she had a feeling he wouldn’t mind that she didn’t knock, and she was right, he didn’t even notice she was there. She watched him for a moment scribbling away, only seeing the top of his head as he filled in what looked like Christmas cards, his pomade had worn off and his hair was in disarray, a far cry from his usual sleek and put-together self.

“Mr Barrow?”

Thomas’ head shot up and Mrs Patmore couldn’t help but think that if it weren’t for the dark circles of exhaustion around his eyes he would’ve looked just like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar, staring at her with his wide blue eyes and mouth slightly open in surprise.

“Mrs Patmore? Wh..Is there something you need?”

“It’s three in the morning, why are you writing Christmas cards.”

“Three? Oh.”

The poor man looked completely shattered and all Mrs Patmore wanted to do at that moment was wrap him up and give him a warm cuddle. Instead, she settled for taking a seat in front of his desk and eyeing him expectantly which did have the advantage of bringing out the tiniest hint of an amused smirk.

“You’ll think I’m daft Mrs Patmore.”

“I already think you’re daft Mr Barrow so you may as well just tell me.”

**‘** _ **sigh’** _“I’m just not used to receiving Christmas cards, so I never check for them, but for some reason, I did today and…there were some. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m ungrateful or anything if I don’t return the favour and it’s the last post tomorrow. So here I am.”

Once again Mrs Patmore found herself feeling sad that she had never made more of an effort to get to know Thomas before he became butler. How much sadness and loneliness had he endured while they were none the wiser and merely assuming him to be cold and unfeeling? Of course, they knew better now and were showering him with as much affection as they could without him getting suspicious, but would they ever be able to make up for all that lost time?

Now wide awake and headache forgotten, Mrs Patmore eyed the cards with more interest, it didn’t look like there were too many left to go, and she had fairly legible handwriting.

“Are any of the recipients particularly private?”

Thomas frowned in confusion; he had no idea what she was getting at, but he checked his list anyway.

“No, I don’t suppose they are. Why?”

The feisty cook shifted a little in her chair to get comfortable before helping herself to a pen and an envelope.

“You write the cards. I’ll address the envelopes. We’ll be done in no time. Where are the stamps?”

If anyone noticed the next morning that the butler was half asleep at the table, they didn’t let on, and if they noticed that Mrs Patmore gave him extra helpings of his favourites at breakfast, well, they never said a word about that either.


End file.
